free stories

When Aron creates a classified ad online hoping to find romance, he knows he’ll probably end up with a one night stand. So when Graham shows up at their agreed meeting place with a ring mark on his finger and wants to go straight to a hotel, Aron is not surprised. However, things are rarely as they seem and Aron is about to make a connection he never anticipated, while finding love in a place he never thought to look…

All you have to do to get your free copy of Classified Connection is sign up! The instructions for your free download will come in the welcome e-mail (it’s an Instafreebie, but if anyone has a problem with that, let me know and I can make alternate arrangements).

Signing up to Infinite Love Letter is absolutely free! I only send one newsletter a month, so you needn’t fear being bombarded with e-mails. In addition, the e-mail is packed with short stories and high quality content alongside information and excerpts from new releases. I try very hard to put out a newsletter I’d want to receive, and if you don’t agree, you can unsubscribe at any time.

I’m starting a new feature called Fiction Corner, where I’m going to post pieces I’ve written that are too short to be published elsewhere. I hope you enjoy these small tales: be sure to let me know what you think!

Small Comfort

The asteroid loomed into view. With a touch of a button on my craft’s control panel, the forcefield that disguised my home as a tiny, lifeless rock shimmered, allowing the shuttle to pass through. The lush, green grassland of this tiny terraformed oasis welcomed my return as I brought the shuttle in to land. I couldn’t operate the doors fast enough, and fidgeted as the airlock opened with painstaking sluggishness.

I’d never been so happy to see two faces in my entire life, or breathe the crisp, fresh air of my home world. I’d witnessed the wars first hand that were tearing the galaxy apart. I’d seen fields of bodies—human, robot, and alien—lives thrown away as if they were no more than ears of corn to be harvested for the Gods.

My wife Elaina and my husband Jace stood at the bottom of the ramp. I almost fell in my rush to meet them. Elaina held me steady as Jace wrapped his arms around both of us. We needed no words—they were fully appraised of the ongoing situation. I would not speak of such horrors here, and sully my sanctuary with the violent politics of warring worlds.

They led me inside our large farmhouse, and we wasted no time getting reacquainted with one another. I needed their human touch to remind me I could still feel. Their beauty erased the mental images of entrails and their perfume chased away the stench of rotting corpses still fresh in my mind. When I came, Elaina’s fingers caressing me and Jace buried deep inside, the whiteness of my climax felt like a new beginning—as if the calamities I’d witnessed had been nothing more than bad dreams.

“Come in, Captain.” The unwelcome voice intruded into my space, but I knew I couldn’t ignore it. I pulled the virtual-reality headset off and my gut clenched as a wisp of smoke drifted into the field tent.

“Go ahead, Lieutenant.” My voice was husky, but I cleared my throat and repeated myself. A nearby mortar blast startled me. I imagined Elaina clutching my shoulders, giving me strength. Jace looked on from across the room, offering me support with his presence. They may not be real, but they reminded me of what I was fighting for, gave a purpose to the endless death and destruction I bore witness to every day of my life.

Apologies as usual for taking so long to get this done, but Magic Man Chapter Eight is
now up! In this chapter, Kyle and Catalina race to save Robert and Dimitri from witch hunters. I’m hoping to have another chapter for you soon, so keep checking back for updates.

A new f/f short is available at the Free Stories page! This one is too short to do an official ebook release, so I’m putting it online for your entertainment. Enjoy!

Memories In The MistRushing home to see her dying father, Vasira takes a shortcut through an uncharted valley. A monster lies in wait, however – guardian of a battleground known only in legends. Vasira must find common ground with the guardian if she is to pass – but it turns out they have more in common than they realize…
Genre: Fantasy
Warnings: None
Word Count: 1623

These fifteen stories were inspired by images from the Young Adult LGBT Books Group. In these pages you’ll find LGBTQ teenagers living their lives – experiencing first encounters and long relationships, coming out, staying closeted, questioning, loving, having adventures, dealing with family, with prejudice, with magic.

Rainbow Briefs was hands-down my favorite anthology read of 2013. The quality and variety of these shorts is amazing considering this book is free. I especially liked that this anthology was LGBTQ, with a nice mixture of lesbian, gay and trans stories to satisfy almost everyone.

Despite being YA, these stories don’t speak down to their audience. I could relate to a lot of what was written from my own teenage years and it’s rare I find that level of authenticity in any story. Kira Harp is certainly a master at speaking to a young adult audience and I would absolutely recommend this to any teenager struggling with their sexual orientation or gender identity. I also recommend it for adults as well – these stories transcend the label of YA and are something everyone can read and enjoy.

I would have rated almost all of the stories four or five stars, but Designing Sam was easily my favorite. I haven’t been moved to tears at a book for a long time, but this honest depiction of a trans teenager struggling with family and identity in a realistic manner really moved me. In a genre where sometimes we are so eager to get our HEA that we make families overwhelmingly accepting, it was good to see a parent in denial and a situation that wasn’t wrapped up neatly with a bow on top. It’s a stark reminder that we have a lot of work to do as a community to increase acceptance and awareness of LGBTQ issues.

I think you should go and download this book right now. I think you should spend a couple of hours pouring over these stories, reading even the ones that fall outside of your typical reading diet. Then pass it on to a young person you know who needs to understand that they are not alone in the world. These positive yet realistic stories could literally change a life.

Quiet librarian Lauren and her party girl younger sister Jillian’s lifestyles only intersect around a few things. Magic seems to be the key that brings the two together, even with unwritten rules surrounding their lives. Taking a bit of time to give back with the library’s Earth Day celebration gives them time together, but there are darker things waiting just around the corner for them both.

This story confused the hell out of me. I’m not sure how it’s listed in the lesbian category on All Romance, since it’s about a woman and her sister, and there is no hint of any romantic feelings whatsoever. I also felt that it was not a short story, but more of a snippet. It reads like a first chapter sample might, cutting off abruptly before I even began to sink my teeth in. It ended so suddenly and without any hint of romance that I re-downloaded it from the vendor to make sure I had a complete version. Apparently I did.

To me, a short story must either tell a complete story that’s too short for a longer book or it must have some kind of point to make. To simply set a scene and cut away before we even reach the meat and bones of the story isn’t short story writing, it’s writing the first chapter of a novel and calling it quits. Since this was a freebie, I was curious to see if the author had any other works that this could be a sample or side story from, but the only other entry I could find was a vampire anthology.

I’m really confused as to why this was released by a publisher, even as a free promo. It’s an obviously rushed and incomplete piece that’s not worth anybody’s time. As a first chapter of a novel, this could have been reasonably good. As a stand-alone short story, it fails miserably. It barely sets up characters and there are no romantic elements whatsoever. A shame. I’m really in the mood for a good lesbian read, but this was not it.

This story is part of the Love Has No Boundaries event and will be available for download here.

It’s Trent’s first day under his new boxing coach Gordon, who his mom blackmailed to get him to train her son. Chris, Gordon’s young lover, takes an instant dislike to Trent and the two become rivals.

I have a few problems with this story. First of all, it feels incredibly rushed, especially towards the end where we are simply told the fate of the relationships in the story many years later. In fact we are told many things instead of being shown them. The sexual tension between Trent and Chris was a tension I wouldn’t have known existed if the story hadn’t told me. I felt no passion between them at all and had to rely on the story to tell me it was there. This really felt like a short where the author felt the need to get it out of the way in order to complete a chore. The story needed more time to breathe, more words to explain the feelings between these men in order to give it any emotional punch.

Secondly, I didn’t like any of the characters at all. Chris was mean, Gordon was lying to and cheating on his wife, Trent’s mom used blackmail to get her way and Trent himself seemed shallow. I didn’t feel any love between the characters, just built up sexual tension that didn’t even feel that hot because of the circumstances. The one sex scene in this is rushed and ends in tears, which didn’t make me feel good at all. In the end I felt sorry for these people who never seem to get what they want and have to settle for whatever they can get. This didn’t feel like a romance to me, but a story of two people who hated each other and needed to get their frustrations out. How they ended up in a committed relationship is beyond me and I can’t imagine they will be happy together in the end.

It’s hard to recommend this one. Perhaps if you are really obsessed with boxing or buff sportsmen this one will feel hot to you, but I felt it lacked passion and emotion. There are so many better stories out there that I say you should probably give this one a pass.

This story is part of the free Love Has No Boundaries event and can be downloaded here.

Fourteen is a cybernetic soldier fighting wars for the Federation. When he’s tasked with killing a group of colonists, Fourteen hesitates to kill an innocent child. He breaks through the indoctrination forced on him by the Federation and flees with the child to a remote colony planet, where he meets Connell. Connell’s an outcast on a world where family is key. Can Fourteen and the child fill the gap in his life?

For the most part I loved this story. A great sci-fi tale of a man who rescues a child and how that small life changes his immeasurably. Fourteen was a soldier who never thought he’d have a family, and yet he and Connell manage to defy the odds and form one anyway. Fourteen takes a real name and fights to protect his family and his new life. I loved the way Fourteen struggled with spoken language and life outside his suit. He could have just been a typical alpha-type military male but he was vulnerable, gentle, and very much human.

My biggest complaint and why this isn’t a five star story for me is that the later years of the family’s lives seem rushed. What easily could have been a novel (or a shorter story that could have ended with a HEA much sooner) became a quick recap of their lives and deaths. There were some interesting thoughts on life after death that could have been expanded, but as it was the years flew by and we were only given snippets of major events.

Still, this is a very strong story and definitely worth your time. Don’t hesitate to add this one to your reading list.

The Lion and The Crow is part of the free Love Has No Boundaries event on Goodreads. Visit the group’s website for a free download of this novella.

Sir William Corbet and Sir Christian Brandon embark on a journey together to free William’s sister from the clutches of her cruel husband. William is prepared to die to protect his sister, but Christian is the seventh son of his family and is determined to use the guile he’s learned protecting himself from his half-brothers to protect William – a man he’s quickly falling in love with.

I loved The Lion and The Crow. It weaves a believable and clever story with a strong HEA in a time when the whole world would have been against the idea of two men in love. It lets the tension simmer and build between the pair as their feelings grow and they struggle to come to terms with them.

I deeply enjoyed William’s struggle against his desires for Christian as they traveled together. The sex scenes were hot, a wonderful payoff and release of tension at exactly the right moment, and the way the story wrapped up at the end was nothing short of brilliant. I loved Christian’s intelligence and the fact that he used his wits to protect William, and William’s strong sense of honor and duty was easy to like.

The writing itself is fluid and richly detailed without bogging down the pace of the story. I learned exactly enough about William and Christian and their respective families to understand the characters’ reasoning. Anybody worried about being mired in superfluous details shouldn’t worry.

I really can’t believe this novella is free. I would have gladly paid for it. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.

The Great Depression looms over New York, with the jobless and the hungry devoid of hope that things will ever get better. Walt is a journalist who can’t write a story. Penniless, he spends the night at a flophouse where he meets Peter, a formerly wealthy man who is about to lose everything he has. Walt brings hope back into Peter’s life by giving him the chance to change the lives of others and in doing so finds the inspiration for a story that will kickstart his career.

I thought I would have a quick read before bed, so I opened this e-book with the expectation of reading a few pages and literally couldn’t put it down until I was finished. It’s been a while since I sat down and read a story that was a pure five star read for me, but If It Ain’t Love hit the spot perfectly. It’s a tale of darkness and light, despair and hope in a time when there was a lot of the former and not much of the latter.

Allen nails the Great Depression and its feelings of hopelessness, and yet somehow manages to make this a warm and hopeful story despite all the suffering. Walt and Peter are both good people getting through hard times, but they haven’t let it corrupt them. I felt so much warmth in this story that I found myself smiling. It’s been a while since I really felt touched to my core by a story and moved by its romance.

The writing style is excellent, giving enough details about the time and place without swamping the reader, while moving things along at a decent pace without rushing. It’s a fairly short read that you can complete in one sitting, but sometimes I prefer that to stories that meander on for two hundred pages to pad out a word count. If It Ain’t Love is short and sweet, warm and hopeful and a great read. Even better, it’s a free read on Smashwords, so there’s no excuse not to enjoy this gem of a book. I’ll be looking out for Tamara Allen’s other works with heightened interest.